Introducing RxSwift: Does an iOS Developer Need It?
Developing a great application these days requires writing code that can simultaneously handle user interactions, perform network operations, manage data, present dynamic content, and more. That means writing a lot of asynchronous and concurrent code, which can be challenging to get right, and even harder to maintain.
That’s where Reactive Programming, and specifically, Reactive Extensions, comes in. Reactive Extensions for Swift and iOS enable writing asynchronous and concurrent code that is concise, easy to follow, and flexible.
In mobile app development, Rx believed to bring a major shift in app development.
Though many developers found RxSwift immature as it is way new in comparison to other swift libraries available. But those who have already tried their hands on this new iOS library found it a right solution to deal with difficult-to-handle asynchronous code in Swift. Writing with RxSwift allows a completely new experience with Swift Programming language.
What is RXSwift?
RxSwift is a swift version of Reactive programming. Reactive programming has gained massive significance due to its unique programming paradigm that automatically changes all variables linked to changes regulating app performance. Reactive programming is about programming that defines how to react to changes such as user input, data coming from a stream, changes in the state of a system, etc.
RxSwift library is the version of Swift language with reactive expansions just like it is available in other languages such as RxJava, RxJs, Rx.Net etc. Its process asynchronous code executed in the background easily without disturbing UI and UX experience on the user device.
It is the most awaited solution to the issues in Swift i.e composing asynchronous and event-based programs using observable sequences.
The ‘observable’ can be employed as a universal, highly-composable pattern. Thus, developers no longer need to use tons of patterns including completition blocks, delegations, target actions and many others all at once.
Let’s understand what particular problems RxSwift actually addresses. All in all, RxSwift allows application development in a declarative way, thus you can use it when:
Bothered by KVO
KVO (Key-Value Observing) is a practice performed in Objective-C that allows notifying objects about the specific changes in the state of other objects. Though KVO has powerful capabilities, it is not that much popular among programmers due to several reasons but its significant disadvantage, i.e. performance capacities consumption when used frequently. RxSwift on the other hand available with the solution of it. The reactive extension of swift radically by minimizing the necessity to involve this API at all.
You need to synchronize two requests.
There are several cases when developers have to call an API that helps in redesigning the current UI representation. This is required as not all REST APIs are adapted to build the app for mobile platforms. A developer has to keep in mind a number of Boolean variables and build a class that would help in dealing with the interconnectivity of the variables. When developers employ RxSwift, it lets them combine the two observables and send an answer at the end of processing two API requests.
You don’t like going with Delegates.
UI Development is essential as it reacts to various asynchronous tasks. In Swift, the templates are known as delegates. The role of delegates is to enable developers to solve the issue with asynchronous calls. To which developers have to compose a voluminous code that requires massive efforts from the team since usage of delegates required a huge amount of information.
Here RxSwift eliminates the strict necessity to use voluminous delegates. This framework allows declarative coding that doesn’t affect the size of the UIViewController and there no longer objc needed. Instead of doing the tedious and non-expressive work, developers can bring clarity in code easily.
You May Need Write Your Own Observable
In the application development process, it is a normal occurrence when developers need to create their own observable. RxSwift here makes it pretty easy. With this framework, a developer can wrap HTTP requests with URLSession easily.
Conclusion: Reactive programming with Swift
As we have seen, applying reactive programming in professional application development services solve complex problems and build efficient programs. It automatically speeds up the development process and helps developers focuses on scalable apps. Thus, every iOS developer should try this new extension in iPhone and iPad app development process.
